Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Indigno de ser humano by Osamu Dazai

64 reviews

kat5502's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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charrlee's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have never seen such an inscrutable face on a man (17)

The darkest novel I have yet to read, and I don't say that lightly. So much of how you read this novel is dependent on your own beliefs and biases. While the three notebooks pose a slight a question of subjectivity, the way Yozo is viewed in the prologue and epilogue are what truly form the thoughts of the reader. I can, and will, write an analysis on my thoughts around No Longer Human at some point. There is so much more that just cannot be said in a review. 

The last line haunts you; this book will haunt your mind. I don't feel as though I can rate this properly because there is something so human despite the inhumanities described. Also, knowing this work is semi-autobiographical enables you to approach the topic with more humanity as opposed to an entirely fictional rendition. 

Yozo is textually represented as a bad person, yet at the same time, he manages to be more than his evils to the people around him, whether that is realized or not. Everyone is important to somebody. At the heart of this novel lies the question of redemption and rebirth. No Longer Human, despite its name, invites the question of where humanity lies; is it inside or outside of us? We must extend the hand of sympathy to others, but to what degrees is society willing to extend sympathy? Yozo fills us with the uncomfortable and we must carry that haunting every day. Who is the real clown? 

P.S. The more direct translation, disqualified as a human being, packs a better punch. 

He was a good boy, an angel (177)

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dagaezoomer19's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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klopichuli's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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softbooknerd's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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shannonheal's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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chinola's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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anni_o's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

Protagonist / Writer of the Notebooks is rather sexist. I guess it is a product of its time, but it sure did not age well. The prose is beautiful in parts, and a mix of vague and too detailed in others. The insight into his depressive episodes was very meaningful/insightful, and it was a rather quick read. I related to the protagonist in part, especially with the view of the world, but in other parts it was frustrating to see him spiral further and further. 

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golpesar818's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

considering this book within the imperialist context of post WWII Japan, i found this book to be even more unsettling and depressing, because then i started to feel like Yozo’s character represents postwar Japanese society broadly  (i.e kinda like how Yozo, in his many attempts to understand society, asks “what is society?” and answers: “a society is just an individual”). yes,
he’s a patriarchal misogynist. his hatred of women is overt. he experiences multiple overlapping dependencies and isolations, he is not very likeable, but what’s even scarier, he is dangerously recognizable in SOME specific ways. namely his social anxiety. it’s all very banality of evil. overall though, by the end of the book i felt that the title “no longer human” or “disqualified as human” suggests to me that his loss of humanity (attributed to his psychiatric institutionalization), much like his many desires to unalive himself, is systemic. i don’t normally read “classic” literature but appreciated the vibe shift even though this book medium key fucked me up. major tw that i listed below. 

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joelle_7's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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